The Cleveland Browns’ otherwise disappointing 2025 season ended on a surprising high note on Sunday as not only did they beat the Cincinnati Bengals, but Myles Garrett secured the NFL’s single-season sack record.
The latter especially perturbed Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, who took issue with the stoppage in play to celebrate the historic moment.
“There’s five minutes left in our season, we’re playing for our lives here. And I was never told that we’re gonna stop the game in a critical moment like that,” Taylor said in his postgame press conference. “The refs just said that they made a decision that they were gonna stop the game. And they said they tried to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that. We didn’t sub. We’re trying to be on the ball and go and play with tempo. And the umpire just held the ball so that we couldn’t do anything.”
Cincinnati star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase echoed his head coach’s comments, stating that he hopes that he gets similar treatment when he inevitability makes history during his career. But if he Bengals were looking for sympathy, they weren’t going to get it from Rex Ryan, who took Taylor and Chase to task during Monday’s episode of Get Up.
“If you make NFL history, they will,” the ex-Jets head coach said in reaction to Chase’s comments before directing his attention toward Taylor. “You’re fighting for your lives? Your lives have been over for the last 10 weeks. Worry about your defense. I mean, come on. And I like Zac Taylor, but give me an absolute break.
“This is a part of NFL history. We’ve seen them stop games for Walter Payton when he broke the rushing record, Emmitt Smith. Any of them. Any major milestone like this. And God forbid you recognize a feat we’ve never seen in NFL history. Myles Garrett, he deserved his moment. Get over yourself, Cincinnati.”
Rather than embrace debate, Ryan’s Get Up colleagues joined in on piling on, with Mike Greenberg emphasizing that the Bengals were 6-11 and weeks removed from having been eliminated from postseason contention. Damien Woody agreed, stating that Cincinnati has been “irrelevant all season long,” telling Taylor, “give me a break. Go sit down.”
ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ roasts Bengals coach Zac Taylor for complaining about the refs stopping the game to celebrate Myles Garrett breaking the single-season sacks record.
Rex Ryan: “You’re fighting for your lives? Your lives have been over for the last 10 weeks… he deserved his… pic.twitter.com/fjLkXxcoC9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2026
It’s worth noting that Taylor seemed more specifically irked that he wasn’t informed that there would be a stoppage in play, which is something that could have easily been communicated before the game considering that everyone knew that Garrett was only a sack away from breaking the record. Still, as Ryan, Greenberg and Woody were all eager to point out, claiming that the Bengals were “playing for our lives” was a bit dramatic and it’s hardly a surprise that anyone would mock such a characterization of Sunday’s game between two non-playoff teams.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.